Tank pets?

[Xoobee]

Hi.
I have recently acquired a tall 20 gallon tank.
I'm not sure what to put in it...
Any thoughts on what can live in a tank and not grow to be too large?
Thanx.

[Copper'sMom]

How about fish?? Oscars are great fish with personality. They grow to the size of their tank.

[Cactus Flower]

A snake will only grow as large as their environment allows.

Don't go with an iguana, unless you are devoted to keeping a very specific set of temperature/humidity conditions that they thrive under.

Howzabout a turtle? They are great fun.

Fish? Yeah, there are always fish. But yaaaaaaaawn.......

[GsdDiamond]

In order to keep any reptile, whether that be Iguanas, Snakes, Turtles, or other amphibian type creatures, the proper heating must be done for all.

Turtles need someplace to haul up on land. Ideally, a 50% land surface 50% water surface would be perfect. Make the water deep enough the turtle has to chase it's food and can swim around. They also require a heat lamp...I'm not sure of the watts though.

Snakes need things to climb on and a heat lamp, again....watts unknown. If it's a swimmer, again, a 50/50 type deal.

But, after the proper reading/study of your chosen pet, if cared for correctly, they can live a LONG time.

[Lucky Rescue]

Fish do not grow to the size of the tank. They may stunted and sick, but will grow.

For one Oscar, you need at least 50 gallons.

If you want fish, I would suggest maybe 5 - 7 Neon Tetras (or other small tetras(, 3 Harlequin Rasboras (Or two female and one male Cherry Barb) and maybe 3 corydoras. That is plenty for a 20 gal tank.

The biggest mistake new fishkeepers make is to overcrowd tanks. I learned this the hard way many years ago.

[Delirium]

Neither do snakes! That's a myth! The only thing you'd be able to keep in a 20 gallon is a hatchling and even then, it depends on the breed. Also, requires a ton of investment in other equipment.

I advise strongly against a snake unless you've researched it and know what you're getting into.

Also, do you know where you're going to be in 20 years? Because a turtle or snake you get now will very likely still be around then. They are a huge commitment.

From someone who had no clue what she was getting into when she bought her cute little twoonie turtles to another. They're now over a decade old, quite, quite large and were still learning how to bond with each other.

Dee

[ceci]

Originally Posted by Xoobee

Hi.
I have recently acquired a tall 20 gallon tank.
I'm not sure what to put in it...
Any thoughts on what can live in a tank and not grow to be too large?
Thanx.

Hi! Have you given any thought to an apple snail? They're pretty unique, not too difficult to care for, inexpensive, and you can check them out on the web.

[beamer]

i had a giant african land snail, im in england and im not sure if there legal in america, but there great fun

[schnzerlover]

I have a pet rat in a 20 gallon tank and he is quite happy :]
you could also use gerbils, or fancy mice.. i prefer mice or rats because they are very intelligent

I woudnt recomend a snake.. having them in a small tank can hurt them.

[MyBirdIsEvil]

schnzerlover, the original post is from 2004.
They were also talking about a 20 gallon tall, not a normal 20 gallon long. A 20tall wouldn't really have adequate ventilation for a rat.
Tanks in general are actually kind of bad for rats because of lack of ventilation - ammonnia fumes can build up really quick and cause respiritory problems, especially with wood shavings, but even with other types of bedding.
The best housing for a rat is a rodent cage, with a solid floor (their feet can get caught on wire), and places to climb.
I housed both my rats in tanks, but they were almost never in their tank, they were always out at least 8 hours a day on leash or running around playing, and the bedding still had to be changed very frequently.
I'd also like to mention that they're much happier in pairs because of how social they are - though they can be happy by themselves if given constant attention.

[pug lover]

any type of lizzard or reptile requires a great deal of research before it is purchased

but i am sure that any pet u choose for your tank will be properly taken care of even after the novilty wears off

[Colubridz]

Wow.... I'm so shocked to see that myth is still around. Not to be rude but are you suggesting a burmese python which are capable of growing to 14 plus feet would only get say 5 feet long if kept in a 50 gallon. Or suggesting a cornsnake, a species that the largest specimen ever recorded was well under 6 feet, would grow say 20 feet if kept in a large enough aqurium? According to your logic technically I could go right now, and buy a small species of python or hell how about a huge species like a reticulated python which is known to grow 20-25 feet tops and dedicate something like a football field to it and actually expect it to grow 200 plus feet long?

All species have their own sizes any reptile book and hobbiest can tell you as such. The reason it might of seemed like monty only grew when placed in a large cage is because snakes especially pythons can take 5 plus years to mature and it's such a subtle process.

I'm really not trying to come off personally attacking you I just am astonded to see that myth still exsits and it really shouldn't be passed on to first time buyers just getting into the hobby. I respect the fact you've kept snakes for much longer then I and don;t personally know you and feel I have no place to judge you I simply want to point out that every known herpterologist ( one who studies reptiles) has burned that myths years ago and it is well established each individual species has it's own adult lengths ( after all wild snakes literally have the whole world as their "Cage" and yet I really haven't seen many snakes in my backyard that have been over the 10,000 foot mark.

If your looking for some smaller species that would be fine in a 20 gal as adults, cornsnakes, smaller species of milksnakes, ribbon snakes, spotted pythons, rosy boas and sand boas are all good choices.

But I agree with everyone else do as much research as possible before commiting to a snake as they all have their own individual needs regarding, terrirum setup, lighting cycles, heating, humidity and so on and many times some will go off feed and you will have to resort to feeding live rodents ( which I personally hate doing plus it is very dangerous to your snake). So make sure you go out and buy a few books and read as many caresheets as possible before making that descion.

Here are a few good starting websites incase your interested in doing some reading

ReptilesCanada.com- great site full of hobbists which can answer any of your questions

Good cornsnake caresheet ( not this is a very basic intro to care, its essential to research how to treat dieses and recognize them along with methods to try when snakes are off feed and terrirum design)
- http://www.wnyherp.org/care-sheets/s...corn-snake.php

Good Spotted Python / Childrens Python caresheet ( same goes for what I said above)

- http://www.rainforestreptiles.co.uk/...ttedpython.htm

Good Sand Boa caresheet

- http://www.kingsnake.com/sandboa/captive.html

Milksnake caresheets

http://www.wnyherp.org/care-sheets/s...milk-snake.php

Also just wanted to add, All of the reading I've ever done on rats is due to their highly social nature they need to be kept in pairs very much like ferrets despite how long you can play with them every day, that and that they need much more room then a 20 gal and need something with as many levels as possible. So maybe upgrading in the future and getting your rat a friend might help

Cheers
Kayla